Lex should place a couple of billboards with the face of the Lithuanian hope through out the city. Might as well promote the return of the red and yellow unis while he is at it. Let's get 2012-2013 rolling.
Man are you a journalist by profession? You have to be one of the most versatile posters here. Did you compile this out of real footage or just out of highlights? If it was the former I would like to get your opinion of his "anti-highlights", how sound and consistent does his play look?
He won't be a high level defender. He can be an average defender. Better than Scola, but not a shut down the paint guy. That's why I want him playing PF, not C. We can run a defensive C out there with him to compensate.
If Motiejunas can improve his rebounding from average of 3 rebounds to 8 rebounds a game over one year, he probably can become a good defender if he wants.
And he's doing all that in stronger comeptition than before - Euroleague. Last year he played in Eurocup.
D mo Anyone else notice the low release point on his turn around one-handers? Almost like a funky semi-sidearmed motion. I hope that doesn't pose any issues in the NBA - with getting his shots blocked !!!!
Motiejunas is taller Scola Motiejunas post skills are of a taller version of Scola...perimeter game seems to be spot-up shooter with range. Think about how good Scola would be if he was 7'0" tall and 21 years old? Some highlights of players being compared to Donatas: Pau surprised me. Don't see any Pau in Motiejunas game. Age: 18 (side note: Hakeem sighting starting on 53 seconds ) <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Y5Rk6Kf4eCg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Dirk had vast potential coming out. He liked to(and still does to a degree) pump fake in the perimeter and drive. Donatas does not have this. Age: 19 or 20 <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hCMSe1Injiw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Luis Scola Highlight video of Game 1 of June 1st 2007 Age: 27 <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sM51n0vf_E8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Thought Donatas was more athletic then Scola but then I saw these highlights. Young Scola used to get up there Age: Varies and IDK <embed src="http://file.vustv.com/5u_lGjJZoxkzs:false.v" width="480" height="270" allowscriptaccess="always"></embed>
No sir. Not a journalist by profession, but during certain stretches of the year my job gives me flexibility to do some stuff on the side while I'm 'working'. The clips I put together are all from highlights, though I try to catch a Prokom game every now and then. I haven't been able to do so very often lately, but I would say that while D-Mo has gotten better, there are still lots of things he can/needs to improve: Low post defense: He'll need to add some additional lower body strength and improve his technique Closing out under control, as well as help/pick&roll defense: Too often D-Mo gets out of proper help position and therefore is forced to close out too hard. At times he'll actually be in good help position and still not close out properly. You have to work on it, but this is one of the easier things to teach. Adjusting to the different pick&roll coverages will also be a challenge as there aren't as many coverages in Europe. Going up strong/not fading away: There's a fine line between being skilled and being a finesse player that doesn't draw fouls. D-Mo is skilled for age and does get to the line at a decent rate, but for my liking he too often will go away from the basket, instead of going at the basket Also, I've seen a couple of guys mention that D-Mo should be fine at center, depending on the matchup. While that may be true individually, he is not much of a help defender, so your defense will take a hit no matter how little of an offensive-factor the guy he is guarding out there is. Finally -- and from what I've seen -- this hasn't been a problem lately, but early in the season when Alonzo Gee was still on the team, Motiejunas was too passive at times. It's one thing to be aggressive when you play next to 4 guys that aren't all that talented. It's another thing to be assertive playing next to four NBA players that have been there and done that. The coaches will have to give him freedom and allow him to play through mistakes, so he can build up confidence and not fall back to the passive Motiejunas.
Motiejunas is way more athletic than Scola he possesses solid body control and athleticism on the dribble-drive, has no trouble delivering passes from a variety of situations, and even tries behind the back dishes and stuff like that, he shows really nice quickness putting the ball on the floor and spinning towards the basket aggressively, and is terrific getting off his feet going after offensive rebounds and emphatic dunks, offensively, his touch is very good on his jump-hook or turnaround jump-shot, and he has range on his shot that extends all the way to the 3-point line, he's doing a much better job of establishing post-position has the ability to put the ball down and beat opposing big men with a quick first step and nifty handles, even being able to change directions with the ball and execute sharp pivot moves, which you rarely see from a player this size. At times you'll see him grab a rebound and ignite the fast break himself, racing up the floor with the ball with the utmost confidence in his ball-handling ability.
He needs to work on his lower body to increase his vertical. That's one thing I have seen the Rockets trainers be able to accomplish. Landry Patterson (last year), Battier, all increased their lift with the right training. If DMO can do that he will be a better rebounder, shotblocker, dunker and defender. I like what I see on the film. He is much more polished offensively than some of the other projected lottery bigs this year. It's a good start for a young rookie coming in.
Thanks for sharing. How would you rate his "feel" for the game? I wouldn't want another case of the Jordan Hill out there. Glad to see no red flags in this thread. He certainly has the ambition, it looks like it's just a matter of him putting the effort where his mouth is, so far so good with his rebounding and weight increase.
